Disposable leaf and debris collection bag system

ABSTRACT

A disposable lawn bag providing for easy pick-up and removal of leaves and lawn debris, thus eliminating the need for constant bending and handling of leaves and lawn debris. The bag is held open when the two ends of the enclosed stakes are pulled apart and pushed into the ground. This opens the bag and allows it to sit flush against the ground, so that leaves and debris can be directly raked into the open bag. No bending or handling of leaves and debris is necessary. Once the bag is filled, the ends of the stakes are removed from the ground. The bag may then be closed with any type of closure and then disposed of, using the takes as handles.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/210,948, filed on Jun. 12, 2000, entitled DISPOSABLELEAF AND DEBRIS COLLECTION BAG SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention is a disposable lawn bag providing for easypick up and removal of leaves and lawn debris. This invention eliminatesthe need for constant bending and handling of leaves and lawn debriswhen it is desired to remove them. The present invention provides ameans whereby the leaves and other debris are removed directly from e.g.the lawn into the container, such that the debris will be stored withinand removed from the lawn with the container. The container will be adisposable plastic bag, other materials can be used to satisfy therequirements of removal, e.g., paper, nylon and other materials to holdthe collected matter within the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The invention uses a disposable plastic bag of sufficientstrength to hold the material desired to be removed. The open end of thebag will include a support to maintain the bag in an open position whenthe bag is on the ground thereby allowing the leaves and other debris tobe pushed or directed directly into the open end of the bag. Preferablythe support to maintain the bag in an open position at its open endwould be a pair of elongated stakes. These stakes can be parallel to oneanother e.g. forming an opening at the open end of the bag in a squareor rectangular arrangement. In this arrangement one edge of the open endis parallel to the ground and preferably flat on the ground and thesides of the opening will be perpendicular to the ground. The open endwill be supported by the parallel stakes that are put in the ground, tomaintain the open end of the bag in a generally open position. Likewisea trapezoidal arrangement can be made at the open end and a triangulararrangement as well. In addition, the stakes can be connected end to endto create a flexible continuous stake greater than half thecircumference of the open end of the plastic bag, to form a half circleopening. Likewise, a single stake having a length greater than half thecircumference can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004]FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the present invention having parallelopposed supports for the open end of the bag.

[0005]FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, however, the supports are angled suchthat the base of the open end is greater than the top portion of theopening creating a trapezoidal effect for the opening. This embodimentprovides an advantage in that the base portion of the open end of theplastic bag adjacent to the ground is wider to allow a larger amount ofdebris that is close to the ground to be swept into the open end of thebag.

[0006]FIG. 3 shows the support stakes arranged in a triangulararrangement to create a triangular arrangement at the open end.

[0007]FIG. 4 is a similar arrangement to the prior views described abovewhereby there is one stake or more than one stake connected end to endcreating a half circle.

[0008]FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the bag of the present invention ofFIG. 1; however, by varying the size of the bags or the stakes, the usercan modify the size of the opening and if desired increase or decreasethe size of the opening.

[0009]FIG. 6 shows an arrangement whereby the stakes are generallyparallel. In this arrangement, when the open end of the bag is open, thestakes can be brought together in side by side relationship to provide aclosure of the bag using the length of the stakes to draw the two sidesof the open end of the bag toward one another. A tying means such as atwist, rubber bands or adhesive strips along each side of the stakes canbe used to maintain the stakes in close relationship to form a closureof the open end of the bag. Likewise, tape can be used to hold thestakes to one another.

[0010]FIG. 7 is a partial view of stakes 14 and 15 showing use with anadhesive strip along the length of one stake to adhere against thelength of the second stake.

[0011]FIG. 7a is a partial view of stacks 14 and 15 showing analternative use with tape, whereby one or more pieces of tape areattached to one stake which are wrapped around the other stake to holdboth stakes together.

[0012]FIGS. 8 and 9 are perspective schematic diagrams of the bag 10 ofthe present invention showing the arrangement of stakes 14 and 15 wherethe top portion of each stake is with the bag. FIG. 8 shows the tophalves of each stake in phantom so that they can be seen inside a loopedoverlapped portion of the bag that secures the stakes to the bag.

[0013]FIG. 10 is a section view of the top of bag 10 taken along lines10-10 of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1 the present disposable lawn bag 10 includes aplastic container bag 11 having a closed end 12 and an open end 13. Asshown in FIG. 1, the open end 13 is supported in a rectangular positionin the open position by a first stake 14 and a second stake 15. Open end13 includes a base side 16 adjacent the ground and a top side 17 spacedapart from the ground and parallel to open base side 16. In thearrangement shown in FIG. 1, the opening 13 of bag 10 is maintained in agenerally rectangular configuration as supported by opposed parallelstakes 14 and 15. Though the ground is not shown, the tops 14V and 15Bof stakes 14 and 15 are in the ground such that side 16 is adjacent tothe ground.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, open end 13 includes stakes 14 and 15supporting bag 11 in an open position. Also shown in FIG. 2 andpreferably in the event there is wind in the location where the debrisis being picked up, open end 13 would face the oncoming wind eitherdirectly or at an angle or a portion thereof such that bag 11 would bemaintained by the wind in a full open position along its length,preferably in a full open position along the entire length of bag 11. InFIG. 2 stakes 14 and 15 are angled in such a way that base side 16 ofopening 13 is wider than top side 17 of opening 13.

[0016] In FIG. 3 is a similar arrangement of bag 11 as described hereinwith or without wind stakes 14 and 15 are in close proximity at theirupper ends 14A and 15A such that stakes 14 and 15 form a triangularopening for open end 13 of bag 11. Similar to FIG. 2 base side 16 ofopening 13 forms a wide portion of opening 13. This allows debris to beeasily swept into the inside of bag 11. In FIG. 4, a single continuousstake 18 supports open end 13 in an open position with base side 16flush to the ground. In FIG. 5, it can be seen that stakes 14 and 15 arepreferably sufficiently long such that base ends 14B and 15B of stakes14 and 15 are long enough to be driven into the ground and still allowbase side 16 to be flush with the ground. As shown in FIG. 6, when useof the bag is completed, stakes 14 and 15 can be removed from theground. In addition, stakes 14 and 15 can be drawn together in aparallel arrangement so as to first seal or generally close opening 13and second to create a handle to support and carry bag 11 when itcontains debris. In addition, rubber bands 19 and 20 can be used to holdthe opposed ends of stakes 14 and 15 in close arrangement, at the endsof each stake 14 and 15, so that bag 11 and opening 13 will remain in aclosed position. Alternatively, an adhesive strip 21 along either stake14 or 15 can be used to hold the stakes together. Preferably theadhesive would have a reasonable cover (see FIG. 7). As shown in FIG.7A, one or more adhesive strips 21, attached to one of said stakes 14can be wrapped around the other stake to hold the two stakes together.

[0017] In general, the present invention is a disposable lawn bag 10designed for easy removal of leaves and other lawn debris. The inventionincludes a flexible garbage bag 11 that contains stakes 14 and 15, thatwhen spread apart with their ends inserted into the ground, will holdbag 11 flush to the ground and in an open position for ease in rakingleaves and lawn debris into the bag. Bag 11 can be made of variousthickness of plastic or other disposable material and can come in avariety of sizes and thickness and materials depending on the job it isbeing used for.

[0018] In an alternate embodiment bag 11 will contain slots on oppositesides of opening 13 which allow for the support stakes to be held priorto use and allow the protruding ends to be exposed and then be placed inthe ground. When the ends of the stakes are spread apart tautly andinserted into the ground, the bag will be held open and one side of theopening will sit flush against the ground. The stakes can be made out ofa variety of materials including, but not limited to: plastic, wood,metal, cardboard, aluminum, rubber, paper materials, and can bestraight, hinged, collapsible and telescoping. The stakes may vary inlength depending upon the size of the bag used and the size and shape ofopening that is desired.

[0019] A single stake can also form a U-shape such that its two ends canbe inserted into the ground, to hold the bag flush to the ground andhave a semicircular opening for ease in raking leaves and lawn debrisinto the bag.

[0020] The present invention is a disposable lawn bag designed for easyremoval of leaves and other lawn debris comprising a flexible bag thatwith enclosed stakes can form a square, rectangular or trapezoidal shapewhen the stakes are inserted into the ground, which will hold the bagflush to the ground and open for ease in raking leaves and lawn debrisinto the bag. The flexible bag with enclosed stakes can form atriangular shape when the two ends are inserted into the ground, andwill hold the bag flush to the ground and open for ease in raking leavesand lawn debris into the bag.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 8, bag 10 at its open end 13 includes awrap-over or fold-over portion whereby the top of the bag is folded overonto itself along the entire top portion or the top portion containingthe stake and sealed at location 22 (see FIG. 10). The sealing can be byadhesive or by heat, both well known in the art. Within the fold-overportion is one or more stakes. Referring to FIG. 8, it can be seen thatstake 14 and stake 15 protrude from within the foldover portion and outof the fold-over portion at points 15C and 14C. When the stakes, asshown in FIG. 8, are placed into the ground, bottom portion 16 will beparallel and close to and secured to the ground by the force of thestakes 14 and 15 in the ground and bag 13 will be held in an openposition supported by stakes 14 and 15. Bottom portion 16 in RIG. 8 mayor may not include the fold over portion just discussed, depending onthe manufacturing process.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 9, when the operation is completed the stakes14 and 15 will be drawn close to each other in parallel fashion and tape19 can be used to secure the top portion of the bag and hold the twostakes close to one another. Tape 19 would be adhered on one end 19A onthe exterior of bag 10 and its other end 19B on the side adjacentplastic bag 10, and would have a peel off strip protecting an adhesivelayer so that when the two stakes 14 and 15 are close to one another,the strip (not shown) would be pulled off and the 19B end of tape 19would be wrapped around the plastic adjacent the opposite stake 14.

[0023] In an alternate embodiment it is possible that two openings inthe bag such as 14C and 15C would come with the bag so that stakes notwithin the bag could be inserted at those locations into the wrap-aroundportion of the bag. In the preferred embodiment, the bag as shown inFIG. 8 would be sold with the stakes in the top fold-over portion of thebag. The stakes could be adhered within the fold-over portion byadhesive or other means, with a portion thereof, ends 14 b and 15 b,extending therefrom. The bag would be folded in such a manner that itcould be conveniently removed from its packaging with the bottom end ofeach stake 14 and 15 ready to be put into the ground. It is alsopossible to sell the stakes separately or the stakes can come withand/or within the plastic bag when it is packaged. Additionally, thestakes can be molded or otherwise attached as a part of the bag.

1. A disposable lawn bag designed for easy removal of leaves and otherlaw debris comprising: a flexible garbage bag, said bag having a closedend and an open end, one or more stakes for supporting said open end ofsaid bag in an open portion, such that when said stakes are spread aparttautly and the ends of said stakes are inserted into the ground, saidbag is flush to the ground and its open end is held open for ease inraking leave and lawn debris into said bag.
 2. The disposable bagdescribed in claim 1 wherein: said bag is made of various thickness ofdisposable plastic material and is in a variety of sizes depending onthe job it is being used for.
 3. The disposable bag described in claim 1wherein: each said bag includes a slot on opposite borders of itsopening which allows for support stakes to be held, when the ends ofsaid stakes are spread apart tautly and inserted into the ground, saidbag will be held o pen and sit flush against the ground.
 4. Thedisposable bag described in claim 1 wherein: said stakes can be made outof a variety of materials including, plastic, wood, metal, cardboard,aluminum, rubber and paper.
 5. The disposable bag described in claim 1wherein: said stakes are straight, hinged, collapsible or telescopic. 6.A disposable bag described in claim 1 wherein: said bag has an enclosedstake, said stake can form a U-shape when the two ends of said stake areinserted into the ground to hold said bag flush to the ground and in anopen position for ease in raking leave and law debris.
 7. A disposablebag described in claim 1 wherein: said opening of said bag is in theform of a square, rectangular, or trapezoidal shape when the two ends ofsaid stakes are inserted into the ground, and will hold the bag flush tothe ground and open for ease in raking leaves and lawn debris.
 8. Adisposable bag described in claim 1 wherein: said flexible gag has oneor more enclosed stakes to form a triangular shape when the two ends ofsaid stakes are inserted into the ground to hold the bag flush to theground and open for ease in raking leaves and lawn debris.